Marketplace security has become a rising concern over recent years. Security and anti-theft concerns have only increased with the pervasiveness of scanners at checkout stations. It has become increasingly frequent for perpetrators to switch and/or alter barcodes so that an item can be obtained for a cheaper price. In addition, many retailers also utilize image capture devices to catch shop lifters. Price scan at point of sale for (disputed) items without barcodes is a primary bottleneck for the checkout throughput. Typically, a missing barcode item is handed over to a sales associate who physically, goes to check a particular department for a similar item (with a barcode). Alternatively, a checkout clerk can manually input the name of the item if he/she knows it. Both options present an opportunity for mistake or fraud that may or may not involve the checkout clerk. For example, without a barcode scan, a store clerk may register the item incorrectly. When this happens, the transaction will likely be processed for an incorrect amount of money. This can even be done intentionally if there is some collusion between the checkout clerk and the “customer”.
In view of the foregoing, there exists a need for a solution that solves at east one of the deficiencies in the related art.